Then and Now

Back in the mists of time, when corporate and product websites began, they were filled with words. For a writer, those were the good old days. Clients wanted sentences and plenty of them. We writers waxed poetic about brands and their attributes. Hundreds of words flowed down the electronic pages while photos and graphics were few and far between.

But who was reading all those carefully crafted paragraphs that we slaved over as if we were writing the next version of War and Peace? It became apparent that not too many potential customers had the fortitude (or the time) to read through entire websites. They read some of the words and then would call to get more information. Or, take a trip to the nearest store to see the product in the flesh.

Today, images rule on websites, along with carefully honed messages that engage, inform, and persuade viewers to purchase the product or service right then and there. Content is king and must be integrated to appeal to users on many levels. We writers are challenged to tell a brand or product story in fewer but more powerful words.